WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS?

WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS?

Every time I tell our story about moving to Cali, anyone who knows us always asks about the kids. How are they taking it? What do they think? Have they stopped talking to you? (ok they don’t really ask this but I know they are thinking it :)) I bet your 15 year old is having a really hard time?

It doesn’t surprise me that people ask about the kids, what normal person wouldn’t when they know that you are moving 2 teenagers and a pre-teen away from everything they have ever known. It actually warms my heart a little to know that people are worried about our kids and want the best for them. I am sure there are some people out there who will probably miss our kids more than they will miss us, which I totally understand! My Dad actually told us that he was ok with us moving, but it saddened him that we were taking the kids with us. I offered to leave them here with him, but I assured him they would send them back 🙂

Overall, I would say they are doing pretty well. They are still talking to us! And they are pretty open about their feelings – so I guess that is something… They are very different people – which I absolutely love. Side note: I think it is so cool that the same 2 people can have 15 kids and each would be completely different than the others. What an amazing God we have!

So how is each one of them handling it you ask? Thought I would give you a little insight into that below:

Allie (15): When this moved seemed imminent, she was the one I worried about the most. She has a great group of friends, she has a soccer team that she loves and has been playing on since she was 9 years old. She likes high school and made her high school soccer team. I just kept thinking, “She is not going to be happy with us, and this is going to be SO hard for her.” However, she has completely surprised us. I would say she is the one that is most excited. Is she sad about leaving her friends? Absolutely! But she is able to see past the sadness and is excited about what is in front of her. She is our high adventure kid. Her bucket list contains things like sky diving, bungee jumping, swimming with sharks…you get my point! She looks at Indiana as boring and is excited about all the different things there will be to do and experience in California. She is worried about making new friends, where she will sit at lunch the first day of school and if she will make a soccer team out there. Little did we know we are headed into the “hot bed” of girls soccer – which will be great for her, but also is a little intimidating at the same time. What I appreciate most about how she is handling all of this is that she is leading the way for her siblings. I think that it would be much harder on them if she was angry and frustrated about it all!

Rachel (13): I would say right now that Rach is the one struggling with the move the most. To be honest, I wasn’t really worried too much about her at the beginning. She is outgoing and makes friends easily, so I thought “Oh, she will be just fine.” It’s true that she makes friends easily and she is very outgoing, but she also LOVES our family traditions and looks forward to the things we do every year with friends and family! When we went to Florida last year for Spring Break with friends she remembered that the first time we had been with the same group, we stopped at the “Welcome to Florida” sign and took a picture. She made sure that we did the same thing and even wanted everyone in the same places. She is also the one who loves and feels things very deeply. She has a group of friends that she LOVES, she has been friends with them since elementary school and she is mourning the loss of getting to do all the things she thought she would do with them. She, like her sister, is worried about making new friends and worries that everyone will already have their group – leaving her without one. She also wants to continue singing and acting and is making sure that we start looking for places to get her plugged in. She has times when she is very sad about our move and has recently told me that sometimes she cries herself to sleep. This breaks my heart as her mom, but we just keep talking about it and I keep reassuring her that it is ok and normal to be sad. The more research we do about opportunities for her out there, the more I see her eyes light up! Her and I are a lot alike emotionally – I truly believe that as long as we keep talking about her feelings and working through them, that she will come out on the other side just fine.

Tyler (11): To be honest, I have the hardest time reading how Ty is feeling about it all. I suppose that has a lot to do with the fact that he is a boy and is only 11. He takes a lot of cues from Rach, but he doesn’t feel things quite as deeply as she does. He was pretty adamant when we first talked about moving that he get to finish 5th grade, so right now he is pretty stoked that he’s getting to. I also think he is one of those kids who just lives in the moment. He doesn’t think too far in advance, so right now life is pretty normal and June feels forever away. I know at times he is thinking about the change, because he will say things like, “Before we move. I am going to do…” I know one of the things that will be the hardest for him is leaving behind his 2 best friends. He has said to me several times that he wishes he could take them to California with him. We will be looking for a new soccer team for him, and checking into hockey out there, along with getting him immediately involved with the Junior High Ministry at Mariners. I can’t tell you how thankful I am that they continue the Jr. High ministry in the summer as it will be an automatic onramp for him! The other thing that I think will be good for him is that it looks like 6th grade is still part of Elementary School. He doesn’t think that he will like this because he is done having to walk in straight lines…who knew that was such a bother 🙂 I, on the other hand, think it will be helpful for him to get to know new people and make new friends in a smaller environment.

There are many things about the move that excite me, and many things that worry/scare me. How it will impact my kids is at the top of that list! I know this will change the footprint of their lives, but I also know that God loves them more than I do. I am trusting Him and the plan He has for our family and am praying like crazy! If you ever find yourself thinking about our family and could say a quick prayer for my kids I would be forever grateful!